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At a press conference in Edmonton on Sunday, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley announced the NDP government’s strategy to lower greenhouse gas emissions by introducing an economy-wide carbon tax, putting a cap on emissions from the oilsands developments, and phasing out coal-fired power plants by 2030. The strategy also includes target of cutting methane emissions by 45 per cent by 2025.

According to the government, the measures would see Alberta’s greenhouse gas emissions, which are the highest in the country, start to decline from current levels by about 2030. Notley said the goal is to turn Alberta into “one of the world’s most progressive and forward-looking energy producers.”

“This is the day we step up, at long last, to one of the world’s biggest problems,” she said. “This is the day we stop denying there is an issue. And this is the day we do our part.”

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Trudeau made combating climate change a major plank in his party’s election campaign.
(Bullit Marquez)

The carbon tax would apply to all sectors of the economy and be phased in by Jan. 1, 2018 to $30 per tonne. When fully implemented, it would take in $3 billion a year, but Notley promised that all the money would be reinvested in green initiatives within Alberta, including clean technology research, public transportation, and energy efficiency programs.

Although the strategy would cap emissions from oilsands developments at 100 megatonnes, that limit would still leave the controversial industry room to grow; the oilsands currently emit 70 megatonnes per year.

In the wake of U.S. President Barack Obama’s decision earlier this month to reject the $8-billion (U.S.) Keystone XL pipeline proposal, Notley argued that the NDP proposal would help rehabilitate the province’s environmental reputation and help ensure the sustainability of its energy sector.

In a largely supportive statement, Tim McMillan, president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, echoed that view. “We expect today’s announcement to further enhance the reputation of our sector and improve our province’s environmental credibility as we seek to expand market access,” he said.

Notley’s announcement came as Trudeau prepares to lead a Canadian delegation to the climate conference in Paris next week, where more than 190 countries will meet to hammer out an agreement to limit global warming. The prime minister has made combating climate change a major priority of his government and pledged to create a national strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Douglas Macdonald, a senior lecturer at the University of Toronto’s School of the Environment, said Notley’s announcement “can only help the federal effort put together some sort of national program.” Alberta and Saskatchewan have traditionally been the two provinces that were the most skeptical about joining a national carbon-pricing scheme, he said, and Notley’s climate change strategy is a sign the Alberta government is now “serious about doing something.”

“We want to send a clear signal to Canadians and our partners around the world that Canada is back and ready to play our part. Premier Notley’s new plan for Alberta is a real and vital contribution to that effort,” Catherine McKenna, Trudeau’s environment minister, said in a statement Sunday.

Not everyone is confident the Canadian government is doing enough as the Paris summit approaches, however. In an interview on CTV’s Question Period on Sunday, Green party Leader Elizabeth May said the proposed international agreement “is weak in about 100 different parts” and urged Canada to take a stronger stance.

She said the emissions reduction targets laid out by the participating countries are not ambitious enough to “avoid disaster.” Canada’s goal, set by the previous Conservative government, is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent of 2005 levels by 2030.

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